Pacers fined $100K by NBA for roster management in Feb. 3 game
· Yahoo Sports
The Indiana Pacers have been fined $100,000 by the NBA for their lineup in a game against the Utah Jazz last week.
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The league announced the fine as a violation of their Player Participation Policy in the Feb. 3 game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. According to an NBA investigation, including a review by an independent physician, All-Star Pascal Siakam and two other starters could have played in the game under the league's medical standard, which is part of the policy. That could have included playing reduced minutes in the game.
In addition to Siakam, who is considered a "star player" under the NBA policy, the Pacers benched Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell, citing rest or minor injuries, though each of the four players played the previous night in a home loss to Houston. The NBA said the Pacers could have held some of the players out of other games to better comply with the policy.
Utah played just seven players in the game after trading four players to Memphis earlier that day.
Indiana lost the game, 131-122.
“Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.”
The NBA's policy was created before the 2023-24 season to promote player participation during the regular season. "Star players" are defined as players who were selected to an All-NBA Team or NBA All-Star team during the previous three seasons. Siakam was named to his fourth All-Star team on Feb. 1. He was honored by the Pacers before the Feb. 3 game.
The NBA also announced a $500,000 fine for the Jazz for their roster management in two different games, Feb. 7 against Orlando and Feb. 9 against Miami. The league cited the team removing top players Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. before the start of the fourth quarter and keeping them on the bench, despite both players being otherwise able to play in a game in which the outcome remained in doubt.
The Pacers are 15-40 heading into the All-Star break this weekend. Only three teams — Sacramento, Washington and New Orleans — have worse records than Indiana at this point in the season. The Jazz are 18-37 this year, with one more game to play before the break.